Spotted Marsh Frog Limnodynastes tasmaniensis

Frogs of Victoria series

Identification

The Spotted Marsh Frog, Limnodynastes tasmaniensis, is a light brown to olive green frog with a series of fairly regular blotched green patches along its back. In the Melbourne area, most Spotted Marsh Frogs have a vertebral stipe that is sometimes reddish in colour. They grow to a maximum length of around 50 mm.

Distribution and habitat

This is a widespread species found throughout most areas of Melbourne. It usually shelters under logs and stones on the edge of swamps, ponds and lagoons.

Biology

The diet consists mainly of invertebrates. Eggs are laid in floating foam masses on still waters and hatch after a few days. Tadpoles grow to a maximum length of 60 mm and take up to 5 months to develop into frogs.

Comments (48)

Hi I have a tank with tadpoles that are slowly morphing, one has only a tiny bit of tail left :) it is tiny perhaps 2cm long, in the same tank I have other tadpoles no where near growing even front legs. I know they grow at different rates so I'm not concerned, however one or two of the tadpoles I have are a totally different color to the morphed one and two times the size, width and length... Could they still be the same type of frog? I did save two different lots of eggs, but assumed they looked like the same foamy mass, which I thought was a spotted marsh frog? Any ideas?

Hi,
Hoping you can help - have written to the frog forum but no responses. I'm in SA and we have a healthy colony of spotted marsh frogs in our backyard pond - they have been there for about 6 years now. However this year, apart from a few croaks back in September, they haven't been calling which is most unusual. Our neighbour's frogs have been calling normally. I'm wondering what could be wrong. Have noticed our cat is weeing near the pond but we've always had cats and they have never worried the frogs before. We've checked the pond and it has plenty of water, vegetation etc. Filter is working well and circulates the water daily. Thanks for any help - I miss our frog calls! Bron

Hi Bron, Spotted Marsh Frogs (Limnodynastes tasmaniensis) tend to move around over time, particularly if other available ponds are close by. It may be that the other ponds have become more attractive over time, with more appealing vegetation, or that there is less disturbance there than at your pond. Your cat may not be a major factor (unless it is eating the frogs when you're not looking) but may be something that tips the balance. If you maintain your pond in a frog-friendly manner, they should move back sooner or later, or other frogs should move in.

MIsha
4 November, 2014 13:09

Hello - I have loved reading all the comments above. I have 5 beautiful Marsh frogs all about 4cm now. and about 2 years old. I believe they are very happy in my outside vivarium. On the morning of Sunday 2nd Nov (5:30am), I popped outside to eat my breakfast with my froggies and noticed that they have spawned thousands of eggs on the the side of their pond. As its inside my large outdoor vivarium the pond/water is rather shallow and definitely not suitable for thousands of tadpoles, I've carefully removed the spawn into a new aquarium on Monday. The eggs seem to be developing very quickly, however my question is: How long does it take for the Marsh Frog eggs to turn into tadpoles? I live in South Australia and love my amphibian friends. Thanks Michelle :)

Hello, I have some newly hatched Spotted Marsh Frogs and I wonder when would best time to release them into our outdoor enclosure. My husband has a licence to keep them but is fearful of the present season Melbourne weather. My point of view was that they should be released as they would find a more natural habitat outdoors and need to develop their instinct. they are about one centimetre square but can hop. The outdoor enclosure would be shared with some young water dragons which are sleeping at the moment. I think it would be ideal for them as they would not yet have to manoover around them and the frogs could have time to build up their physical aptitudes. The pond is surrounded with native vegetation and landscape and is a home to a regular insect fauna. Could you please help us in this decision?

Hi Maite, the Water Dragons will most likely make short work of the frogs when they wake up, so adding the frogs to the dragon enclosure is not a good idea. Also, if they've been reared indoors under warmer conditions they will be more advanced than frogs reared outdoors, and may not be able to cope with the outdoor climate at this time of year. It would be worth waiting a few more weeks until the outside temperature is more consistently above 20 degrees.

Hello,
My daughter's creche has an aquarium of spotted marsh frogs and most turned into adults at the start of the year. There are however two huge tadpoles that came from the same batch of eggs and they show no signs of turning into frogs and they are approx 8 months old now. The tadpoles are at least double the size of the adult frogs.
I asked the carers if they could be different species and they were adamant that the aquarium contents all hatched from the same batch of eggs. What possible cause is keeping the tadpoles from reaching maturity?
The aquarium is not aerated, contains some matter for the adults to be partially land based and the majority of the tank is under water.
thanks

Hi, I have a spotted marsh frog and a striped marsh frog, they were bought from a supplier as tadpoles.. Recently they just had tadpoles, so many tadpoles! I'm just wondering what I should do with the babies? They're growing really quickly and the tank is not big enough to keep them! HELP!

Thank you for your question, you were correct in asking for help and not releasing the tadpoles! All frogs, tadpoles, and spawn are protected in Victoria, but some species can be kept under licence. The collection of frogs from the wild or the release of frogs to the wild is prohibited. The release of frogs to your backyard or the raising of tadpoles for the purpose of release is also illegal, and this is mainly to stop diseases potentially picked up in captivity from being spread to wild populations.

The Licensing Unit of the Department of Environment and Primary Industries is responsible for the Victorian regulations, if you require more information. The only option open to you is give the tadpoles away to a pet shop. Many pet shops are licensed to trade in frogs and most of these will welcome new stocks of tadpoles, particularly if they are offered for free.

Good luck finding them a new home!

India
17 August, 2013 10:20

Hi,i have three spotted marsh frogs that i bought as tadpoles at a local pet shop 6 years ago. at night i can hear them croaking "tick Tock" noises. i was wondering how you can tell if they're male or female? and all three have yellow spots under there back legs, i wanted to know if that is a problem or if it is normal?

Hi India - here is some information for you from our Live Exhibits staff.

The easiest way to sex Spotted Marsh Frogs (Limnodynastes tasmaniensis) is that the males call audibly. During the breeding season males also have dark-brown nuptial pads on the fingers to aid during amplexis (mating).

When the frogs are still young, both sexes may have white under the chin but males later develop a dark olive patch under the chin. If the frogs were bought as tadpoles six years ago they will all be well and truly mature by now.

This species is particularly variable in colour and pattern, and yellow spots under the legs are nothing to be concerned about.

Denise
18 July, 2013 14:15

Hi Julie- I have a female and male spotted marsh frog but lately the female has not been getting under cover and spending most of her time in the water which she hasnt been doing wondering if maybe she is sick. Can u help please ?

Hi Denise, it’s hard to say what the reasons might be without knowing more about your set-up and what conditions may have changed recently. She may be responding to a change in environmental conditions that may even be too subtle for you to notice. However, as a general rule any change in an animal’s behaviour can mean something is wrong with the animal, so if you’re concerned at all the best option is to take your frog to a vet.

Julie
2 February, 2013 08:50

I have 7 spotted marsh frogs set up in a tank indoors. There are 2 males and 5 females and they changed into frogs about 6 months ago. This morning there are eggs in the tank!! Do I leave them or do I need to put them in a seperate tank. Once they hatch they would probably get sucked up by the filter. Any info would be great.
cheers
Julie

Hi Julie - we ran this question past our Live Exhibits team here, and they have provided the following response:

The eggs will get sucked up by the filter unless you take steps to protect them. Some breeders move the eggs to a new tank to keep them separate from the adult frogs and from feed crickets, but eggs often don’t do well after moving so it’s generally safer to leave them where they are. You can cover the filter inlet with mesh, or for a more complicated setup you can build a mesh box around it to ensure a constant flow of water.

Once the eggs hatch, the tadpoles should be separated from the adults if you want as many of them to mature as possible.

We hope this helps!

Alexandra
25 September, 2012 13:28

Hello. I am researching possibility of purchasing some spotted marsh frogs for our soon-to-be garden ponds. I note in other posts above that you suggest fish species such as Murray river rainbows, whiteclouds and zebra damos can live in the same pond without preying on frogs/juveniles/tadpoles. I understand that the native fish species - Australian Smelt is also a good choice. My question is whether you believe the adult frogs would be inclined to eat the young fish? Would be grateful for your thoughts.
Thank you in anticipation, Alexandra.

Hi Julie, crickets, cockroaches and mealworms are the standard food for frogs in captivity, but any insects of a suitable size will do. Worms, maggots and waxworms may also be available from pet shops, and it also helps to collect insects from the wild if they’re available. The more variety the better.

Because most people get their insects from pet shops and because there often isn’t a great variety, calcium dusting has become standard to make up for any potential dietary deficiency. The frogs may well survive without it, but it’s an added insurance for healthy frogs.

Could you give me some info on dusting food with calcium for spotted marsh frogs? I understand it is for healthy bones, but what is different to being in the wild, where their food is not dusted. I have put a UVB light on their enclosure? At the moment they are feeding on crickets, what other suggestions do you have other than flys and roaches.

We have some tadpoles living in a blocked drainage ditch outside our house, but the water appears to be evaporating. Is it safe to add more water from the tap, or do I need to start practicing a rain dance? (We're in Brisbane.)

Hi Lisa - There are a couple of considerations here; one option is to add some tapwater (so long as the water isnt too heavily chlorinated), although it depends on your philosophy on 'interfering with nature'. If your water supply is treated with chlorine or other such chemicals, you can possibly boil some tapwater (make sure you let it go cold!) and add that, but also keep in mind the tadpoles could potentially be Cane Toads, which as an aggressively invasive species don't have many advocates on their salvation when compared to native species. If you think a rain dance is neccessary or will help, by all means give it a go!

mik
28 February, 2012 02:11

We quite often get spotted marsh frogs coming into our house, we live on point cook road and across from us there is a pond/marsh, we generally only see these when its been raining quite a lot.

Hi Leanne, as far as we know spotted marsh frogs don’t require a licence but taking them out of the wild is illegal. So the best thing to do is put it back where you found it or in the safest water body nearby. If you have it in captivity legally, ie you bought it from a supplier, then you need to aerate the water with a water stone or pump and change it completely every week if it is a small body of water or every second week if it's a medium amount of volume. You need to feed it pinhead crickets with calcium and reptile/amphibian vitamin powder dusted over the crickets. It also will require a UV light that is attached above the tank and on for maybe 4-5 hours a day. Provide shade for it during this time in case it needs to escape the light or they can burn.

Change the water only with rainwater or with tap water that has sat in a bowl for 20 hours. This allows the chlorine to evaporate. Don’t forget the calcium and vitamin powder on the crickets, its really important or they get brittle bones.

I think I have a spotted marsh frog but it doesn't look like that picture but it matches other pictures on Google. It is darkish brown with a yellowish stripe and dark brown spots. He/She is very small so i have been feeding him/her aphids. I am worried because I haven't seen him/her eating. the water is starting to look a little bit gross. can I just add water? or do I have to use rainwater? PLEASE HELP ME!

Hi Lucy, this question was referred to our resident frog expert in our Live Exhibits staff here at Melbourne Museum, who has the following reply for your query:

An accurate response to your questions would require more information, such as - How old/big are the frogs? Are they kept together? Enclosure size and set-up? It is common when you start with any group of animals that some will do better than others. One will be outcompeted by the others and will quickly fall behind. As the others grow, they are stronger and can further outcompete the straggler causing him to fall further behind. Separating the straggler and intensively target feeding him is probably the best thing. Usually when they catch up to the others they can be re-introduced.If it is a recent metamorph it may just not be meant to survive. Even in the best set-ups with the utmost care there can be a certain amount of mortality when raising frogs. This is one reason they produce such large numbers of young. Spotted marsh usually do fine at normal room temps. Without more info on the husbandry conditions all i can suggest is maintain all the usual things such as clean enclosure, fresh water and good food. The crickets should be dusted every second feed or so with a good quality calcium and vitamin supplement such as Repcal and Herptivite.

All this is assuming it is not something more sinister such as a disease or infection. As with all animals if unsure, a visit to the vet may be the best option.

Hi Lucy - we checked with one of our keepers on this, and they have said the following:

It is common when you start with any group of animals that some will do better than others. One will be outcompeted by the others and will quickly fall behind. As the others grow, they are stronger and can further outcompete the straggler causing him to fall further behind. Separating the straggler and intensively target feeding him is probably the best thing. Usually when they catch up to the others they can be re-introduced.

Spotted marsh usually do fine at normal room temps. Without more info on the husbandry conditions all we can suggest is maintain all the obvious things such as clean enclosure, fresh water and good food. The crickets should be dusted every second feed or so with a good quality calcium and vitamin supplement.

All this is assuming it is not something more sinister such as a disease or infection. As with all animals if unsure , a visit to the vet may be the best option.

Hi, I have 4 spotted marsh frogs - 3 of them are happily eating crickets and growing but the 4th does not seem to be getting bigger and seems more and more lethargic :(
I have been putting baby pinhead crickets in with him but he does not seem to be interested. What can I do?? Would it help to make his environment warmer??
Thanks for your help!

Hi Tya, thanks for your enquiry. I’m assuming you’re talking about an adult frog but it may also be a tadpole. Algae and fish food would be okay for a tadpole but not an adult frog. And neither the tadpoles nor adult frogs would eat breadcrumbs. Adults should be fed live food (cockroaches, crickets, flies) but try to avoid mealworms due to their chitinous shell – frogs have trouble digesting it.

If it’s a large frog, it’s probably not had trouble eating, unless it has a water retention issue or some other condition. The most important thing is to offer it the right kind of food, and then it’s health should be fine.

I bought a spotted marsh frog for a school project but he's really abnormaly giant and im a bit worried that he's not eating. i've tried algae wafers, fresh algae, breadcrumbs and even fish food. also is there any bad food for them ???

We have a 2000litre frog pond in the front yard which attracts loads of frogs including Perons, Striped and Spotted Marsh, Verreaux's, Eastern Dwarf, Bleating, Broad Palmed Rocketfrogs. But the pond itself is dominated by Spotted Marsh frogs. Males often wrestle and try to drown eachother for the best position. Today I was shocked to find a mating going on in the middle of the pond in broad daylight. On closer inspection I saw it was a spotted marsh frog on the back of a Verreaux's Frog(I think - a whistling tree frog) No, No, No, I thought - no cross-breading in my pond please. Took a couple of pics and went out for lunch. Returned hours later to find the Verreaux's frog deceased and floating on the surface, being consumed by tadpoles and an aquatic snail. I now realise that mean spotted marsh frog had the Verreaux's frog in a sumo hold, slowly drowning it. They are fierce combatants and defend their pond to the death. The pond needs a sign "Beware - spotted marsh frogs on patrol"

Hi Ashley, the vertebral stripe is a common morphological variation in this species and is unrelated to sex. Determining sex in this species is a little tricky, males may have a dark yellowy-green throat patch. Also, if they are calling, you can hear the call here on the Museum Victoria website, then it is definitely a male. If it is breeding season, males will also have dark-brown nuptial pads on fingers.

Hi Maddie, the information sheet notes that this species usually shelters under logs and stones at the edge of swamps, ponds and lagoons. So if you have a water body anywhere near you like this that would be the perfect place to release it. Well done for checking the correct place to release it.

When you have tadpoles that are metamorphosing into frogs there are a whole lot of changes happening within their body. You need to leave them in the water until their front two legs pop out. At this point they need to have access to land so that once they are ready they can 'walk' out. At this point in their life they are reabsorbing their tail that is providing all the energy requirements they need so there is no need to feed them. Once they are on the land and are small frogs they are predators and should be fed small insects such as cockroaches and crickets.

Hi Gabby - Spotted Marsh Frogs may have trouble getting back out of the water in the situation you have described as they do not have enlarged toe pads like the tree frogs, and therefore cannot climb well (pardon the pun). In this case a ramp or some other object that gives them easier option to leave the water would be a good idea.

Hi, I think we have spotted marsh frogs some with the red stripe and some without in an old well on out farmlet in Bacchus Marsh. As far as I can tell they have no way of getting out of the water, should wemake a ramp for them?

Thanks for your questions. The list of books that you will find above are all great resources to help you with your research. The books are all available in the Discovery Cenre library and you are most welcome to come in and access them. There are also some websites listed above that will also be interesting for you, you can even listen to a frog call!

Hi, my name is Jemma and I am studying the Spotted Marsh Frog, i need information about them. About their Life, Breeding, Food Supply and Habitat. Also on how all of those subjects are protected now, like short term effects and long term effects. Please write back, Thankyou